Deep and Darkened
by The Documentor
Summary: When sixteen year old Katherine Elliot comes to the clinic alone, Cameron admits her with clinical depression. But everyone has a secret. T for later chapters.
1. Prologue

Deep and Darkened

The Documentor

Summary: When sixteen-year-old Katherine Elliot comes to the clinic alone, Cameron admits her with clinical depression. If only she'd known what lied behind the name…

A/N: No pairings for the time being. It's thrown into AU only slightly with something revealed later into the story. Chapters will generally be longer than this. Thanks )

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**PROLOGUE**

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Dr. Allison Cameron was tired.

Not only tired, but hell bent on going home. And it was only 2:30.

She picked up another file at the clinic, where she'd spent her whole day forking out "it's not pneumonia" and random, probably useless drugs. When she read the file, she prepared herself for another anaemia candidate with her mother spelling out what she'd read on the Internet with her self-diagnosis. She looked inside the blinds and didn't see a young, relatively happy tween with her overprotective mother fussing around her.

No. She saw depression.

The girl sitting limply on the bed in Exam Room Two had her head hanging low, her long dark hair falling over her shoulders. She emanated a ray of darkness and it made Cameron shiver as she entered the room. As soon as the door scratched open, a pair of blue eyes fixed on her own blue-green eyes and even though she didn't feel it was exactly appropriate, she gave a tiny smile.

"Katherine Elliot?" She asked timidly and the girl nodded slowly.

"You can call me Kate."

"Kate," Cameron said as she walked in front of her, "you're sixteen. Did you want your mom-"

"I live with my dad," she said bluntly, the full force of her stare on Cameron, "and I chose to come alone. I don't want my dad to feel like it's his fault."

"Okay. Can you tell about your symptoms, Kate?" She grabbed the pen from her pocket and began ready to write down things the nurses had missed.

"I'm pretty sure I know what I have."

"Oh?" Cameron made the mistake of looking up at Kate and she nodded, letting her guard down.

"I've read a few books, a while ago, on depression. I know you probably get a million self-diagnoses every day but I'm pretty sure that's what it is. I'm really tired, even though I'll sleep half the day. I feel slack and weary all the time and I'm a complete bitch to my dad, even when he's trying to be nice to me and I can see it. I'm not eating right because I'm just not hungry and I'm sore all over and…" She stopped and looked down at her black Chuck Taylor's. Cameron looked up from her writing and saw it written on her face. She had admitted most, but not all of her problem. She wanted to finish the sentence for her, but she didn't feel it right to take an essential step in the process for this young girl, willing to get help.

"I've wanted to kill myself." She whispered and Cameron understood. In the quietest voice she could muster, she continued.

"Have you told anyone else about it?" Kate shook her head and folded her fingers together.

"I've had no one to talk to about it. That's why I came." Kate looked up and it was evident in her eyes that she wanted away from the world and Cameron couldn't help but give her salvation.

"What about your friends?"

"My boyfriend, he…he moved away." Kate looked away whilst she said it and Cameron noted it in the chart, just in case. "My best friend has been very busy with school. And I haven't really got any other friends. My dad's always working."

"What about siblings?"

"Only one," she smiled in spite of herself and Cameron nodded.

"Is there anything that has happened in your life that you can think would be attributed to this?"

"My…boyfriend, moving away. That hurt. I…I can't think of anything else."

"What about your…" Cameron felt scared to ask, but needed to know the truth. "Parents?"

"My parents divorced about five years ago and I moved here with my dad just before junior high. I don't see my mom anymore."

"Okay, Kate," Cameron gave a small smile, signing a small slip inside the file for admission, "I'm going to admit you for a couple of small blood tests as well as a counsellor coming to see you. I'll keep you for observation and I think you need at least a night away from it all."

"Thank you." Kate looked relieved and Cameron nodded.

"We will need to call your dad."

"I know." She whispered. "Just tell him it's…mono or something."

"He's your dad," Cameron looked at her sympathetically, "he'll need to know what's really wrong with you. And you know that it's not his fault and so do you."

"Can…" She looked away before looking down at her shoes again. "Can I stay here just for the night and call him to say that I'm staying at a friend's house so he won't get worried? If I need to stay longer…he'll be okay."

"I…" Cameron didn't know what to say. "I suppose we can do that."

"Thanks." She said and Cameron ripped off the slip, standing and putting her hand on the doorknob, waiting for something to be said. When the room was silent, Cameron opened her mouth to speak.

"A nurse will be here soon to get you sorted out."


	2. Consult

Disclaimer: Disclaimed. So far, only Kate, Jack and Jeremy are mine.

A/N: It would be lovely for you to review. I'm open to anything (except mindless flaming, it's just not cool.) so if you could drop me a line, it would be fantastic because reviews keep me writing. Ciao : )

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**_Consult_**

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Cameron clutched onto her coffee, taking a long sip as she entered the office in the morning. House looked up from his GameBoy, never missing a beat of this particular woman's step. He noticed her long sigh as she walked in and her solemn eyes as she sat heavily in front of him, obviously waiting for something. He couldn't help but question. 

"What's up?" He asked softly and her eyes snapped up, surprised that he was capable of such a question. He saw her surprise in her eyes and smirked accordingly. She took in a breath and ran a hand through her hair, even though it was tied back into a neat ponytail.

"I've got a depressed teenager in observation," she murmured.

"Oh?" He had noticed recently, in his own observation, that his young immunologist had been looking a little blue in the past week. She'd still be smiling and chirpy when spoken to, but she stayed back longer into the night than normal just sitting in her chair and staring into darkness. If it had been him in question, it would have been perfectly normal but this was his pretty, lively and usually unquestionably happy employee. There had to be something more than that.

"It's just so depressing to see someone as young and full of potential as this girl be so sad." She said, looking out the window at the afternoon sun and taking a long sip of her coffee. She was wondering why he even gave her the time to say such a statement without questioning her further. This was mainly why she was slightly put off when there was a long silence between them.

"Surely you've seen cases like her before."

"Yes, but it hits hard every time," she said, her eyes meeting with his in a clash of colours, "when I've been talking to her, she's a smart girl and yet she doesn't want to live. I suppose I should take into account the fact that she brought herself here for observation."

"The girl came by her own choice?" He asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Yeah," Cameron cocked her head a little to the side in her train of thought, "which is positive in itself. She has no explanation to tell me other than her boyfriend moving away. That hurts, I know, but I doubt that it would single-handedly throw someone into depression like that."

"You'd be surprised." He muttered and she nodded, sipping her coffee once again and realising that it was empty. Looking down into it and then looking up again, retrieving a stray drop with her tongue.

"You want another coffee?"

Two days had passed since their conversation and House had just been intercepted by Cuddy, being forced to spend two excruciating hours in clinic duty. He stormed out on a mother wailing about her child having hay fever, expecting her kid to be immune to every common disease. He signed himself out and had made a beeline for the elevator when Cameron came from around the corner, her head hung slightly as she pressed the button down on autopilot.

"Feeling blue, Dr. Cameron?" He asked sarcastically and she looked up, surprised with his presence.

"I-"

"Don't worry, the sun will shine tomorrow, darling." He said, limping into the elevator without a second thought. She begrudgingly followed him and folded her arms over her chest, more irritated now. Her lips pursed and he noticed this tenseness in her posture. He smirked, deciding to have a little fun with her. "Glad to see the anal retentive, 'nobody-messes-with-me' Cameron is back in town."

"Go to hell, House." She left on the second floor, two stops before he had anticipated. He raised his eyebrow, following her just before the doors slid closed behind him. She heard his uneven gait behind her and, in a desperate effort to rid herself of him, she sped up her own footsteps. He noticed this and mentally berated her for underestimating him.

"Oh, Cameron, I thought you were more mature than that."

"Oh, House, I knew you weren't." She sniped back, whirling unexpectedly around a corner and House stopped still just before the turn, knowing he'd lost her. Smirking, he wheeled himself around and walked back towards the elevators, knowing exactly where she'd gone. Sure enough, he found her a few minutes later sitting in a room on the first floor next to her young patient.

"You come back to visit me a lot." She gave a weak smile as Cameron smirked.

"I've told you what my boss is like."

"Yep," she said, looking down and fiddling with her blanket. "Do you know if Jeremy's come by?"

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but I don't. Your dad might know-"

"Dad says that he doesn't want any of my friends knowing. I told him it's bullshit but he won't listen to me."

"Dads want what's best, even if it doesn't agree with you," she tried to reason and saw something flash in Kate's young eyes, "but I can give him a call for you, if you'd like."

"Thanks," she snuggled further into her blankets, pulling them up to her shoulders. "I just want someone who knows to come to me."

"Someone who knows what?"

The door slid open and as both pairs of eyes met the door, a tall man walked in with a Styrofoam container full of food. He looked up, his five o'clock shadow obviously in the midday light and gave both women a weak smile. As he walked in, Cameron couldn't help but notice something flash out from the corner of her eye, knowing in an instant that it was the figure of her boss. _That bastard._ She gave a weak smile, trying to hide her rising anger with her patient and family.

"You're still here, Dr. Cameron?" He asked as he sat down and she nodded.

"Dr. Cameron likes talking to me," Kate gave a small smile and her father nodded, smiling too. He was just glad to see his daughter smiling. It was a start.

"Mr. Elliot-"

"Jack," he told her and Cameron nodded.

"Jack, Kate wants to see her friends. Could you give any of them a call?"

"I don't think it's any of your business," he said sharply, "but most of her friends are out of town on vacation. I don't think that they would want to see her like this anyway."

"Dad, you are so full of it," Kate's teeth gritted, "Jeremy is sitting at home doing absolutely nothing and I think he would do anything to come and see me here. He would be worried that I haven't picked up the phone in a week." He deserves to know where I am."

"That little shit is the one who landed you in here. Do you really expect that I'll let him come visit you in hospital?"

"Jeremy has done nothing wrong!" Kate's voice raised higher and higher, almost to a shrill scream. "This has nothing to do with him and it sure as hell has nothing do with you whether my best friend sees me in hospital or not!"

"Fine," his face contorted into an angry scowl, "let the little bastard come. I don't want to see him."

"Good." She smiled sarcastically and Jack stormed out of the room, seeing House leaning against the wall on the other side of the hallway. He turned his angry glare on him, wondering where he'd seen this man before. "What are you staring at?" He spat before he stormed off down the hallway and that was when Cameron stood.

"Oh dear! Look at the time," she faked a smile as she walked out from the room, "I'm late for an appointment. I'll be back, 'kay?"

"Okay," Kate settled down, pulling her sheets over her head and visibly curling into a ball. Cameron noticed House and shook her head angrily as she walked down the hallway. He unhooked his cane from his arm and started off on following her down the hallway.

"That was inappropriate-" Cameron started before House caught up with her and finished her sentence.

"What, watching my employee do her job and go far, far beyond? It was far more inappropriate to budge into what the father says about the daughter and causing a ruckus like that. So I wouldn't be pointing fingers if I were you."

"I went back in there after spending an hour to get away from you," she growled, waiting for the elevator, "and you followed me to an exam. Patient-doctor confidentiality beats your principal of trying to make the kid feel better." She stormed off, sick of waiting, and opted for the stairs. House followed her as far as the first flight, surprising himself at his swiftness. He stopped, watching her storm up the stairs and he called after her.

"You're losing perspective!" He roared and she wheeled around, walking back towards the end of the second flight of the stairs with a 'oh-no-he-didn't' look on her face. "You're miserable every time you see a bird chirp or the sun shine that used to make you smile and dance gaily about the place. You are pushing the boundaries for a patient." He narrowed his eyes. "Who does that remind you of?"

"You know what," she said, pointing her finger at him, "you should visit her yourself. Let her talk to you. Then talk to me." She whirled around and stalked off down the hallway to take the elevator from there. House shook his head and looked down the first flight of stairs as he contemplated her statement. Maybe he could make a detour to the cafeteria.


	3. Harrowing Questions

A/N: I'm not overly happy with this chapter and sorry that it's significantly shorter but, to counter both those points, this is more a bridge between one part of the story and another and I'm my worst critic. To know how this chapter fits, I need to hear from you. Whilst I'm on the subject, reviewer "dapper"(you were unsigned) - I wanted to thank you for your precise and wonderful review. Thanks to all my reviewers : )

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**_Harrowing Questions_**

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House let himself sit down heavily on the chair beside the sleeping girl he stared at. _So this is Cameron's torment._ The noise he made when he sat had stirred her but she refused to roll over to see what the fuss was. He noisily opened the bag of crisps he'd bought on his way there and started to crunch, open-mouthed, so every single squish and gargle could be heard throughout the room.

"That is _really_ gross." The girl said, still rolled over towards the window. She brought her hand up to her face and rubbed her chin as she heard her visitor hum.

"Not as gross as that time someone vomited on their-"

"Okay," she slowly rolled over and her bright blue eyes rested gracefully on the man sitting before her, before they widened in alarm. She pulled her sheets up closer to her neck and curled into a defensive ball.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Dr. House," he said calmly and she didn't move, knowing that this was the crazy man Dr. Cameron had spoken of.

"What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you," he folded his fingers together and laid back in the chair, stretching out. "I want to know all about you."

"Does my dad know about this?" Her face contorted into an angry or scared look, House couldn't really tell which, and he looked up in mock thought.

"He doesn't really need to know about me talking to you, does he?"

"I…" She closed her eyes and moved back on the mattress. "I suppose not."

"I'm Dr. Cameron's boss and I just need to talk to you to clear some things up."

"Like what?"

"Where you come from, what your parents are like, what kind of things you like, that sort of thing."

"She knows all of that."

"I don't," he stated plainly and she rolled her eyes.

"I was born in Chicago, then moved to New York for a few years before moving down here when my parents divorced. My dad is generally a nice guy, screwed up moral compass, and my mom is a bitch. I like music and my guitar. Is that okay?"

"Why did your parents divorce?"

"God knows why," she snapped, "they never used to tell me anything. When we moved from Chicago to Manhattan, I had just come home from school and all my things were packed up to leave. I never got to say goodbye to my friends."

"What are your friends like?"

"I don't know – he's a nice, cool person."

"He?"

"I only really have one friend after my boyfriend…moved away."

"Where did he move to?"

"Uh…" She had to think and came up with the quickest and farthest place away she could think of. "Quebec. Why so many questions?"

"I need to know answers."

"Well, I'm done answering," she rolled over, rightly irritated with this man coming in and bombarding her with questions. House gave a long sigh and audibly picked up his bag of chips, ready to make the sounds again. "And don't even start." She warned and he smirked, feeling happy that he'd found a small part of what made her crack. He also noted to himself to tell Cameron that she was irritable but willing to answer questions, something to be noted in the chart. As he went to grab his cane, something pushed the door and let it clatter to the ground with the vibrations passed through the glass.

"Hey-" He started to say in mock annoyance but was stopped as a pair of blue eyes identical to his own stared into his. A shiver was sent down his spine as he realised who was giving him this cold stare. The woman had come inside the room had come in with a sympathetic smile on her face but this particular visitor had shocked her so sharply that her default setting turned on – bitter disdain towards whoever caused this. Typical. She threw her black coat down onto the chair sitting next to the offending man and folded her arms, ready for a fight.

"What the hell are you doing here?" House kept on his signature glare to this woman who let out a derisive laugh.

"Same could be asked about you."

"You didn't answer my question." He leant over; grabbing his cane and feeling the cold tile brush his fingertips. He stood up and leant heavily on his cane, waiting for his brain to make the choice – _fight or flight._ She narrowed her eyes and the tension inside the small infirmary room could have been not only sliced with a knife, but also thrown off the Sears Tower(1) and still be intact when it hit the streets.

"I'm looking for my daughter."

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(1) I needed a high tower and couldn't really use the Empire State Building, for obvious reasons. I don't live in the US and so I have no idea what would be recognisable. If anyone has some better suggestions, I'm more than open to them. 


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